


Aftermath

by sparklingmorning



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2019-05-24 21:43:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14962739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparklingmorning/pseuds/sparklingmorning
Summary: -Aftermath of infinity war-The first try to get things back to normal-All survive Avengers in one room-Clint explains his disappearance





	Aftermath

(The Avengers, all of them, are sitting in a room in Wakanda. The cascading of a waterfall in the distance is the only sound in the room)

Tony: So, why were we called here?  
His tone is sharp. He's not wearing a suit and tie as usual, in fact, he's in loose sweatpants and a t-shirt. His breath reeks of coffee. Too many nights awake will do that to you.  
Nobody mentions the poor attire. It's not like the rest of them look any better. Two months after the Snap wasn't enough time for even the first stage of grief.  
There's a pause, and then Steve speaks. “It’s time we all came together. As one. Or, what's left of us anyway…”  
The silence in the room thickens.  
Rocket stands up, wincing a little. He was never supposed to survive this long anyway. His species… well, it wasn't the longest lifespan. And now he had nothing to live for.  
“What makes you think we can do anything right now” He hisses, and his eyes narrow dangerously at Steve. “When there was twice the amount of us, we still failed! We failed! We didn't lose a battle, we lost a war. In what delusion do you think the outcome is going to change if we try again?”  
He sits back down. He’s said his piece. He’s done. Another place, another time, and he would have stormed out in a way that would have made everyone rethink their idea of a dramatic exit. But not now. Now, he’s tired.  
Steve’s face is hard, blank. He saw this coming, there was no way this meeting would have gone smoothly.  
Still, the words are a hard slap to his face.  
“I know we lost…” He starts and feels a familiar lump grow in his throat. He clenches his fists, but the images come nonetheless.  
Bucky. Walking toward him. Fading… Fading into dust. Fading from life, fading from memory, fading away…  
“I know we lost” He starts again, and this time his voice is firm. He’s holding it together. If only by a thread. “But we can’t… we can’t quit here”  
He looks around, for some sign that they are listening. Weary, dull eyes meet him instead.  
He shakes his head. “We can't let him get away with this” Steve says, and he stands up. “He doesn't get to take them away from us” His voice is rising, and a dangerous tone underneath it. “He doesn't get to take Bucky away from me again! The time stone is out there, somewhere! There are alternate universes, there are different battles, different wars Rocket! And yes goddammit, we are half the team left. But I can't do this, I can't keep sitting here, feeling sorry for myself, when I know there might be the possibility, no matter how slim, of getting Bucky back!” He cuts off abruptly, realizing he’s been screaming the last couple lines.  
Face flushed, he sits down. Tries to control his breathing.  
There's silence, stretched so tightly it feels as though the slightest breath might break it. Steve looks down at the floor, unable to look at the faces around him.  
And then, slow clapping. Painfully slow. Clap. Clap. Clap. It’s Tony, standing up, clapping, slowly. He’s smiling, yet his eyes are ice.  
“Well well, the hero has spoken once again!” He says and scoffs. With a grand flourish, he points to Steve. “Captain America, here to save the day!”  
He stops, and for a second, his eyes seem to wander.  
“Mr. Stark, please, I don't want to go…” echoes in his head, and he's back at Titan, he's clutching Peter, his kid, he’s holding onto his dying kid…  
Someone’s arms are around him, they’re guiding him back to his seat, he leans into them, his legs have buckled underneath him.  
Too much coffee, too little sleep, and the same words in his head, all the time. A broken track record, and no way to fix it.  
“I think this meeting is over” Someone was saying, it sounded like Nat, but she wasn't on Titan, where was he?  
“Alright. Yes” That's definitely the disappointed voice of Captain America, he’s heard it a thousand times. But Steve he was definitely not there, he would have done something, Captain America would have never let Peter die…  
Steve looks at Tony, almost asleep in the chair. It feels wrong to leave him there alone, so he takes the seat opposite him.  
Everyone else trickles out of the room, nobody had hope for this meeting anyway. After all, what could their little band of survivors do? If they resisted, Thanos could just snap his fingers again.  
Steve feels a hand on his shoulder, and he jumps a little. He turns, and its Clint.  
“I thought everyone left,” he says gruffly, wiping away one of the tears he didn't even notice had fallen onto his cheeks.  
Clint shrugged and took the seat beside Steve. Across the room, Tony starts snoring loudly. He really needs the sleep.  
Steve turns away from Clint. His feeling toward the archer was… complicated at best.  
“I wasn't there,” Clint says. Steve doesn't say anything. It’s obvious. It’s true. “I wasn't there and I'm sorry”  
Steve feels something snap inside of him, and before he knows it, goddammit he's on his feet again, his face in a rage. “You're sorry? That's the best you've got? We were fighting for the universe Clint, the fucking universe! And you're sorry? Where the hell were you?!”  
Clint grimaces a little and bows his head. “I am sorry,” he says, and he sighs. “I was retired, I thought you guys could handle it, and there was something I had to do…”  
Steve snorts. “What possibly,” He says, and he's started to pace now, “Could have been more important than saving, oh I don't know, half the universe?!”  
At this Clint shrinks a little. “You see, it's this game of tag” He mutters, “And it was kind of really important I didn't get caught… also, did I mention I got married?”  
Steve blinks. Silence fills the room. And then, he shouts at the top of his lungs, “YOU WEREN'T THERE BECAUSE YOU WHERE PLAYING TAG?!!!!”  
“It seemed like a good idea at the time” is the response.  
Sighing, Steve slumps back into his chair, the fight gone out of him. “Well” he says wryly, “It's not like you would have helped that much. We would have lost anyway”  
Clint takes a second, then looks at Steve again. “Listen man” he says, and his eyes meet Steve’s blue ones. “Yes, you guys lost, and yes this meeting was shit. But what you said back there, in your speech… that was all true. And soon enough, the other will get that too. You need to try again. Yes, give them some time to grieve, maybe another month or so. But after that, well, you need to try again.” He sighs, then continues, “As much as I hate to admit it, your the rock of this team Steve. Your our leader, you and Tony. And since he's... Hurting, you have to step up”  
Clint stands up, caught up in his own speech now. “We need a Captain America right now Steve” he says, “And you've got to be him. Yes, this is hard, and yes I know you've lost Bucky and god everyone's a mess. But if there's anyone that can do this, if anyone can pull this team together…”  
He pauses, and walks up to the door. He looks back. “...Its you”  
He exits, leaving Steve sitting there, head in his hands. Across the room, Tony mumbles something in his sleep, then falls into silence again.  
Steve sighs. Clint is right.  
He'll give them another month. Maybe two. But after that?  
They're taking Thanos the fuck down.

**Author's Note:**

> This was written at one in the morning, and more chapters probably will be too, so its probablyyy not the best writing. Also, the present to past tense changes are super annoying to any reader and I hate them yet I cant stop doing them so yup...


End file.
